Map It Out: May

Saturday, May 3rd: Crystal Palace (Away)

The league will probably be long gone by now, but if recent history repeats, the battle for 4th could still rage on until the very last second of the Premier League season. Our biggest problem will be injuries, with 4 of our probable starting XI (Agger, Toure, Lucas, and Sturridge) all known to be injury prone.

Crystal Palace are managed by Ian Holloway, known by many to be a no-nonsense kinda guy. He's arguably the most eccentric manager in England, and has an outgoing personality toward the media as well. This means that before playing the big teams, he'll have the press on his side, which also helps his players.

Ian's beaten us before, with Blackpool, and he used this tactic before that game, and got the best out of the unfit scotsman we know as Charlie Adam. (Although, how he did, we don't know. Not even Kenny could do it and he can do just about anything.)

So, that said, before this game, our players need to be fully psyched for these tactics. It's not easy to forget this, but that's the easiest way to beat Ian Holloway

Sunday, May 11th: Newcastle (Home)

For the first time in a while, we start at home and finish at home, usually we have one away fixture in the 2. This year, our last match is Newcastle. Which, as with Crystal Palace, could be just as important as a similar fixture a month earlier.

To me, Newcastle's' season depends heavily on injuries in itself, with last season being mostly dependent on Demba Ba's leaving in January. However, Newcastle's French Revolution helped them survive comfortably in the end, with Moussa Sissoko and Juan Gouffran being key components in their staying up.

Their strike force has been boosted with the signing of Loic Remy from QPR on loan, so it'll be interesting to see how Papiss Cisse will fit in to plans.

If he doesn't, it makes this match a bit more manageable. And hopefully, we have something to take joy in come this matches' final whistle.